Mohamed Salah apologises to Liverpool before departing for AFCON

Mohamed Salah gave a surprise interview earlier this month after Liverpool drew 3-3 with Leeds. In that interview, Salah claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” after being benched for three consecutive games. The comments reportedly strained his relationship with head coach Arne Slot, and as a result, Salah was left out of the Champions League match against Inter Milan.

Following the incident, Salah and Arne Slot held talks to resolve the issue, and the Egyptian forward returned to the squad against Brighton. Although he started on the bench, Salah came on after half-time and provided an assist. That match was also his final appearance for Liverpool before travelling to Africa to prepare for AFCON.

Recently, Curtis Jones revealed that Salah apologised to his teammates after the interview. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “Mo is his own man and he can say his own stuff. He apologised to us and was like, ‘if I’ve affected anybody or made you feel any sort of way, I apologise’. That’s the man that he is.

“I can only speak from knowing Mo and how he is with us and how he acted after that. He was positive as well. He was the exact same Mo, he had a big smile on his face and everybody was exactly the same with him. I guess it’s just part of wanting to be a winner and I don’t think he will be the last.

“I get that there are certain ways you can go about things, but if a lad is fine just being on the bench and doesn’t want to play and help the team, then I think that’s more of an issue. When there’s been any sort of anger from us, including myself, it’s always been from a good place. At the moment, it might not have come out in the right way, but it’s never affected the team, the staff, the manager, anybody like that.”

Earlier this week, Arne Slot said he still wants Salah to stay at the club after reconciling with the player. However, the final decision may not be up to him. Liverpool’s hierarchy, led by CEO of Football Michael Edwards, will decide Salah’s future. His contract runs until 2027, and if Liverpool want to maximise his value, they could consider selling him in an upcoming transfer window, especially with continued interest from Saudi clubs.